The High Performance Podcast

Jenson Button won six of the first seven races of 2009, then nearly talked himself out of a world title. This is Jenson at his most candid about what really goes on behind the visor.

Originally released in 2021, he takes us back to the start: parents who split when he was seven, a dad who spent every penny in his account on a go-kart, and a mum who tried to stop him racing before becoming his biggest supporter. Then the early Formula One years — a boss who told the world he was a playboy, a team that never backed him, and the move to BAR that he calls the best of his life.

And 2009: the pressure he piled on himself, the headlines, the physio who finally said “just talk to me,” and the pint with his dad the night before Brazil.

Moments that will stay with you:

• The car journey home from Scotland, and the words he kept from his dad until he became world champion
• Flavio Briatore’s yacht jibe, delivered while Jenson’s hands were blistered from a power-steering failure
• The bad-race ritual: write it down, put it in your pocket, move on
• Breaking his hand on a bar drum in Tokyo days before the Japanese GP, then strapping it to the steering wheel to race
• Why he thought he was “too much of a man” to ask for help
• Driving to what you feel, not what you see

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Released by Arsenal, shipped out on four loans, and described by his own academy as the “runt of the litter”, Harry Kane was never the obvious one. So how did he become the first Englishman since Michael Owen to win the Ballon d’Or? Mauricio Pochettino, Jesús Pérez, Gareth Southgate, Alex Inglethorpe, Geir Jordet, Kieran Trippier, Justin Cochrane and Andy Cole, who all saw him up close at different stages of the climb, help Jake and Damian answer that question.

• Alex Inglethorpe reveals the Spurs youngsters who hid footballs in the bushes for secret afternoon sessions, and why turning a blind eye was some of his best coaching.
• Mauricio Pochettino & Jesús Pérez explain the striker signing that never happened, and the public statement they refused to make, to show Kane they trusted him.
• Geir Jordet explains why Kane is the best penalty taker in the world, and the moment he tore up the technique that got him there.
• Gareth Southgate and Kieran Trippier describe the standard Kane set in the dressing room
• Justin Cochrane reflects on the youth-team player he first coached in 2009
• Andy Cole shares what moving from a team built around him taught him about “we, not me”.

Along the way, Jake shares what Norwich’s players made of their new loan striker, and the BBC boss whose belief changed his own career. Damian brings in the research on late bloomers, the “mundanity of excellence”, the power of a single sentence of feedback, and why people with high status talk about themselves less.

They finish on Kane’s acceptance speech: no goals, no stats, just his family and the coaches who helped him rise. If this has changed how you think about talent, share it with someone who needs to hear it.

Listen to the full episodes:

Full episodes links for the guests featured:

Alex Ingelthorpe https://pod.fo/e/23d965

Mauricio Pochettino & Jesús Pérez: https://pod.fo/e/38b65d

Gareth Southgate: https://pod.fo/e/358861

Kieran Trippier: https://pod.fo/e/17a67f

Justin Cochrane: https://pod.fo/e/4181af

Andy Cole: https://pod.fo/e/264cb8

Robert Lewandowski: https://pod.fo/e/372653

GoHenry 👉 Build smart money habits that last a lifetime at https://www.gohenry.com/uk/ with 1 month free to get started!

Vitality 👉 We've partnered with Vitality because our philosophies align perfectly: healthy habits build high performance and can lead to a healthier, longer life. Find out more about health and life insurance with Vitality: https://highpfrmc.com/vitality-hpp-au

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Just keep on rowing.” It’s the simple advice Lewis Moody’s father gave him, and a philosophy that has stayed with him through some of life’s hardest moments. Now living with a terminal MND diagnosis, those words have taken on a new meaning.

The former England rugby captain explains how he’s approaching the uncertainty ahead, why he’s determined to use his experience to make a difference for others, and how his perspective on adversity has changed. For Lewis, positivity isn’t about pretending things are easy. It’s about choosing how you respond when they aren’t.

This is a different perspective on what it means to keep moving forward when the path ahead is unknown.

Fronting Up by Lewis Moody is published by Headline in Hardback and Ebook on the 5th November available to buy online and in store: https://linktr.ee/LewisMoody

GoHenry 👉 Build smart money habits that last a lifetime at https://www.gohenry.com/uk/ with 1 month free to get started!

Vitality 👉 We've partnered with Vitality because our philosophies align perfectly: healthy habits build high performance and can lead to a healthier, longer life. Find out more about health and life insurance with Vitality: https://highpfrmc.com/vitality-hpp-au

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week's episode is presented by Stripe, and features Co-founder of Arcade the entertainment company behind some of Europe’s biggest creators including Fallow Chefs, Max Fosh and The Sidemen.

Jordan opens up about why the traditional model of influencer marketing is fundamentally broken, how modern algorithms allow a creator with 10,000 followers to achieve more reach than someone with a million, and why faceless legacy media institutions are facing an existential crisis against personality-led publishing. He also reveals how his company helped The Sidemen to scale from a single employee into a multi-company empire with 75 full-time staff.

But behind the rapid growth and high-stakes valuations lies a deeper reflection on entrepreneurship: why every sustainable business requires both a "head and a heart" to survive, and why true peace comes from refusing to make your work your identity. What emerges is a masterclass in modern media and a reminder that in today's world, thinking like a creator gives anyone an outsized opportunity to win.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jake and Damian take on one of the biggest myths in high performance: that the best people feel no fear.

Almost every guest who’s sat in the chair has talked about playing without fear. The research says that isn’t how it works.

• Pippa Grange shares her “see it, face it, replace it” approach
• Lewis Howes explains why he wrote a list of every fear holding him back
• Glenn Hoddle describes how surviving a cardiac arrest changed his relationship with fear for good
• Brené Brown reveals how her coach called out her famous decisiveness as armour against uncertainty
• James Clear asks you to let fear be the accelerator rather than the brake
• Mel Robbins admits she still counts down from five to get out of bed every morning.

Jake opens up on the day Glenn collapsed and the broadcast that followed, and on the live TV moments where fear got the better of him. Damian unpacks the comfort, stretch and panic zones, why simply naming a fear turns the volume down, and the karaoke experiment that showed calling nerves “excitement” can transform how you perform.

They finish with a challenge for the week ahead: write your own fear list, pick one thing on it and walk towards it. Because fear and courage live in the same place.

Clips featured (full episodes linked below):

Dr Pippa Grange

Lewis Howes https://pod.fo/e/26ab4e

Gordon Ramsay https://pod.fo/e/1fa614

Bear Grylls: https://pod.fo/e/2a7aa6

Glenn Hoddle https://pod.fo/e/1249b3

Brené Brown https://pod.fo/e/3ca929

James Clear https://pod.fo/e/16868c

Mel Robbins https://pod.fo/e/ed46f

AG1 👉 Grab the Autumn Wellness bundle at http://drinkag1.com/highperformance - Get a free welcome kit and shaker, a month's supply of Omega 3 capsules, a bottle of Vitamin D3K2 and five travel packs, plus an extra £10 off

Vitality 👉 We've partnered with Vitality because our philosophies align perfectly: healthy habits build high performance and can lead to a healthier, longer life. Find out more about health and life insurance with Vitality: https://highpfrmc.com/vitality-hpp-au

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Award-winning comedian, writer, and television host Jimmy Carr has made millions of people laugh by saying the things most of us wouldn’t dare say out loud. But behind the jokes is a mind constantly wrestling with confidence, anxiety, control and the pressure to keep performing.

He joins Jake and Damian for an unusually revealing conversation about what it actually takes to build confidence, why humour can give us perspective when life gets difficult, and how quickly our minds can spiral when we feel out of control.

Jimmy gets brutally honest about his own struggles with anxiety, why “self-confidence without competence is delusion”, and the simple things he’s learned to do when his mind starts working against him.

From the stage to the darkest moments in his own head, Jimmy offers a different perspective on what it means to live with uncertainty, handle discomfort and keep moving forward, without taking yourself, or your thoughts, too seriously.

AG1 👉 Grab the Autumn Wellness bundle at http://drinkag1.com/highperformance - Get a free welcome kit and shaker, a month's supply of Omega 3 capsules, a bottle of Vitamin D3K2 and five travel packs, plus an extra £10 off

Vitality 👉 We've partnered with Vitality because our philosophies align perfectly: healthy habits build high performance and can lead to a healthier, longer life. Find out more about health and life insurance with Vitality: https://highpfrmc.com/vitality-hpp-au

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When Jeremy Clarkson was sacked from Top Gear, Richard Hammond was offered something most presenters could only dream of: the chance to take control of the show. He said no. For Richard, Top Gear was never about one person, it was about the three of them, and he wasn’t prepared to step into Clarkson’s place alone.

Richard reflects on 26 years on the road and the personal cost of a life spent constantly somewhere else. After losing his father, his marriage and his home, he found himself confronting a question every broadcaster eventually faces: who are you when the cameras stop rolling?

Now, he’s poured his energy and own money into The Smallest Cog, his classic car restoration business. It may not have made him richer, but it has given him something more important: a life and a business built entirely on his own terms.

Richard Hammond’s Workshop, S6 is available on QUEST from Tuesday 27th October, and also streaming on discovery+

Vitality 👉 We've partnered with Vitality because our philosophies align perfectly: healthy habits build high performance and can lead to a healthier, longer life. Find out more about health and life insurance with Vitality: https://highpfrmc.com/vitality-hpp-au

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dina Asher-Smith, Alex Albon, Nick Cox, Richard Osman and Phil Heath help Jake and Damian take on the struggle we hear about from you more than almost any other: comparing your real life to everyone else's highlight reel.

Even the people at the very top aren't immune. Dina explains why she deliberately avoids watching what her rivals do in training. Alex Albon opens up on how measuring himself against Max Verstappen at Red Bull pushed him to force it, and how that unravelled his confidence. Nick Cox, former head of the Manchester United academy, explains why comparison "cripples parents", and Richard Osman reminds us we judge other people's highlights against our own blooper reel. Marcus Wareing and Jameela Jamil also feature.

Jake admits that professionally he compares himself everywhere he looks, and argues that envy can be a useful energy source. Damian isn't so sure, and shares the school-fair penalty shootout that turned him into prime Peter Schmeichel. Along the way they get into why silver medallists tend to be less happy than bronze medallists, why we underestimate how much other people are struggling, and why it's what's on your screen, not how long you look at it, that does the damage.

They finish with practical ways to curate your feed, your inner circle and your environment, because knowing you shouldn't compare yourself doesn't make it any easier to stop.

If comparison is something you wrestle with, tell us what helps you. Your comment might be exactly what someone else needs to hear.

Clips featured (full episodes linked below):

• Dina Asher-Smith https://pod.fo/e/2338d
• Nick Cox https://pod.fo/e/138399
• Richard Osman https://pod.fo/e/26ea40
• Marcus Wareing https://pod.fo/e/132116
• Alex Albon https://pod.fo/e/205b4f
• Jameela Jamil https://pod.fo/e/225b9e
• Phil Heath https://pod.fo/e/2313e6

Vitality 👉 We've partnered with Vitality because our philosophies align perfectly: healthy habits build high performance and can lead to a healthier, longer life. Find out more about health and life insurance with Vitality: https://highpfrmc.com/vitality-hpp-au

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Former Red Bull Racing team principal and one of Formula 1’s most recognisable figures, Christian Horner spent 23 years building a life around winning. So when he lost the job he had done for two decades, his first feeling wasn’t anger. It was relief.

Christian opens up about the pressure of leading Red Bull through its most successful era, the emotional armour he built to protect his team, and the toll of always being the person who couldn’t show weakness, from the intensity of Abu Dhabi 2021 to the politics that eventually changed how he felt about the sport he loved.

But when the “Batman suit” finally came off, Christian had to confront a question he’d spent decades avoiding: who are you when the job that defined you disappears? What he found was a life beyond the pit wall, and a reminder that being on this earth isn’t a dress rehearsal.

DRIVE by Christian Horner will be published on 22nd October by Bantam: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1911754785

Christian will be sharing stories from the book on tour across the UK (Nottingham Mon 19th, Bath 20th, London 26th October). To book tickets visit:

https://www.nothird.co.uk/live-shows/christian-horner/

Vitality 👉 We've partnered with Vitality because our philosophies align perfectly: healthy habits build high performance and can lead to a healthier, longer life. Find out more about health and life insurance with Vitality: https://highpfrmc.com/vitality-hpp-au

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Andy Wilman is the legendary executive producer behind Top Gear and The Grand Tour, the creative force who helped turn a small, ageing motoring show into one of the most-watched programmes on the planet.

In this revealing conversation, Andy sits down with Jake to open up about the chaotic, brilliant, and often bruising journey behind the scenes. From the early days when Top Gear was “held together by accidents,” to the lightning-in-a-bottle chemistry that formed between Clarkson, Hammond and May, Andy explains how a mix of creative instinct, insecurity, and outright stubbornness shaped the show’s rise.

He also discusses the strange alchemy behind iconic ideas like The Stig, the happy mistakes that became formats, and the moments where the team’s success began to run away from them. Andy reflects on the personal cost of building a global juggernaut: the burnout, the pressure of chasing ever-bigger audience numbers, the fear of being “found out,” and the toll it took on his home life and mental health.. 

This episode goes far beyond cars. It’s a conversation about leadership, the dangers of unchecked momentum, the creative magic that comes from imperfection, and the deeper human truth Andy only recognised with hindsight: that success means nothing if you never stop long enough to enjoy it.

Want the exclusive story on the high-stakes Amazon deal that launched The Grand Tour? Watch Andy on 'The Room Where It Happened' with Jake.

Surfshark 👉 Go to https://surfshark.com/highperformance or use code HIGHPERFORMANCE at checkout to get 4 extra months of Surfshark VPN!

Simba 👉 Jake believes better performance starts with better sleep. Discover Simba, start your 200-night trial today now:

https://highpfrmc.com/hpp-simba-au  

Vestiaire Collective 👉: Buy and sell preloved menswear now: https://highpfrmc.com/vestiaire-au  

Babbel 👉 Learn a new Language and get up to 55% off your subscription at: https://highpfrmc.com/HPP-Babbel-AU

Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high-risk investment and you should not expect to be protected if something goes wrong.

Gemini Intergalactic UK, Ltd is registered with the Financial Conduct Authority, under Firm Reference Number: 921817

HP Foundation 👉Do you want to kick-start an evolution that will change the lives of millions of children? Find out more about the High Performance Foundation: https://hppod.co/foundation 

HP Corporate Events 👉Click here to book High Performance Events: https://hppod.co/corporate-events 

Explore offers and discounts through our other partners:

https://hppod.co/partners

Andy’s book ‘Mr Wilman’s Motoring Adventure’ is out now and available to purchase - https://hppod.co/mr-wilmans-motoring-adventure-clarkson 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.